A circular saw generally includes a circular blade having a centrally located hole for mounting the blade to a rotatable shaft. The blade is conventionally mounted to end of the rotatable shaft in compression between an inner flange and outer flange or washer, held by a conventional bolt threaded into a threaded bore in the shaft. In order to apply sufficient torque to the bolt for installing or removing the blade, a wrench must be used.
Inconveniences are incurred by the use of a conventional bolt to mount a circular saw blade. For example, the task of obtaining an appropriate wrench can be time consuming, and using the wrench can be cumbersome. It is, therefore, desirable to have a quicker and simpler way to manually secure a blade to the rotating shaft of a circular saw without the need for any extra tools.
It is desirable to provide a wrenchless blade clamp assembly that is convenient, avoids a need for tools, and has a simple structure. In particular, it is desirable to provide a blade clamp assembly that includes a click bolt, which can be tightened by hand, to secure the blade to the shaft. It is also desirable to provide a wrenchless blade clamp assembly, which can be retrofit for use with many conventional circular saws that utilize a conventional bolt to secure a blade to a shaft, particularly wherein the blade is form-fit in a rotational direction to the shaft.